Aerial toy



June 19, 1962 Filed Dec. 1, 1958 L. P. EUSTIS AERIAL TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Leo F. Eusfl's /20 INVENTOR.

June 19, 1962 L. P. EUSTIS 3,039,722

AERIAL 'I'OY Filed Dec. 1, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 5 a0 70 Leo East/s INVENTOR.

United States Patent ()fitice Patented June 19, 1962 3,039,722 AERIAL TOY Leo P. Eustis, 80 Cherry St., West Newton, Mass. Filed Dec. 1, 1958, Ser. No. 777,348 Claims. (Cl. 244-153) The present invention generally relates to a toy construction and more particularly an aerial toy which is somewhat in the nature of a kite but which has structural features enabling the toy to fly at a relatively high altitude.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an aerial toy incorporating a generally skeletonized framework of a triangular box-type construction having a thin sheet of plastic material covering the same together with laterally extending wings and a rearwardly extending rudder attached thereto for purposes of providing added lift to the toy and also for stabilizing the flight thereof.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an aerial toy having a construction which allows the same to be easily knocked down or disassembled for ease of storage.

Yet another feature of the present invention is to provide an aerial toy which is simple in construction, easy to use, effective for its particular purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the aerial toy taken from a position above and behind the toy;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the aerial toy with the covering material broken away for the most part for illustrating the construction of the framework;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of one of the laterally extending wings FIGURE 4 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 44 of FIGURE 2 illustrating certain structural features of the framework;

FIGURE 5 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 55 of FIGURE 2 illustrating further structural details of the framework;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 66 of FIGURE 5 illustrating the construction of the rudder and the mounting means therefor;

FIGURE 7 is a detailed sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 7-7 of FIGURE 6 illustrating the flexible connection for the outer end of the wing stick for resiliently holding the wings in laterally extended position;

FIGURE 8 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 88 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a detailed sectional view taken substan* tially upon a plane passing along section line 9-9 of FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a detailed sectional view taken substan- 2 tially upon a plane passing along section line 1010 of FIGURE 2.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 18 generally designates the aerial toy of the present invention which is attached to an elongated flexible string 12 which may be of any suitable construction but which is preferably of light weight and provided with a high tensile strength. The string 12 may be attached to any suitable reel or the like disposed adjacent the ground surface which is controlled by and operated by a person flying the aerial toy 10. Generally, the aerial toy 10 includes a central box-like section 14, a pair of laterally extending wing assemblies 16 and a rudder assembly 18.

The main body or box-like section 14 is generally triangular in cross-sectional configuration and includes a front longitudinal stick 20 and a pair of rear longitudinal sticks 22 and 24 which are arranged in parallel relation to each other and in spaced relation to each other whereby the sticks, 28 22 and 24 generally define the corners of a triangular area. Each end of each of the sticks 20 and 24 is provided with an inwardly extending notch 26. Encircling the lower part of the main body 14 is a plastic sheet 28 and encircling the upper part of the main body 14 is a plastic sheet '30 thus leaving the central area of the main body 14 open. Also, the part of the plastic sheets 28 and 30 which are disposed between the sticks 22 and 24 are provided with a plurality of enlarged openings 32 for air passage. Connected to the front stick 20 adjacent to but spaced below the upper end is an attaching loop 34 wound about and tied to the stick 20 in any suitable manner with the outer end of the attached loop 34 having a pair of spaced loops 36 for attachment to the flexible string 12.

Adjacent the upper end of the sticks 20-24, there is provided a pair of diverging sticks 38 and 40 which inter connect the front stick 20 and the rear sticks 22 and 24 respectively. The diverging sticks 38 and 40 are retained in spread condition by a spreader stick 42 which engages the diverging sticks 38 and 40 adjacent to but slightly spaced inwardly from the rear sticks 22 and 24.

Reference is made to FIGURE 2 to show the connection between the stick 42 and sticks 38 and 40. Each of the sticks 38 and 40 is provided with a notch 44 and each end of the stick 42 is provided with a longitudinal projection 46 underlying the sticks 38 and 40 respectively with the remainder of the end edge of the stick 42 being received in the recess or notch 44 thereby providing outward movement of the stick 42 in relation to the sticks 38 and 40.

Reference is made to FIGURE 10 to show the connection between the stick 38 and the stick 22 which construction is duplicated in the connection between stick 40 and stick 24. The stick 26 is provided with an aperture 48 extending therethrough and the end of the stick 38 is beveled as indicated by the numeral 50 and rests against the inner surface of the stick 22. A pin 52 is driven into the end of the stick 38 and has a projecting portion 54 extending perpendicularly from the surface 50 for engagement with the aperture 48 thus detachably securing the stick '38 to the stick 22. Inasmuch as the sticks 38 and 40 are prevented from inward movement towards each other by the spreader stick 42, it will be noted that the projecting portion 54 will be retained in the aperture 48 until such time as the stick 42 is removed.

The bot-tom construction is the same as the top construction in that the same and corresponding sticks are provided with the exception that the stick 42 has the projection overlying the sticks 38 and respectively. Reference is made to FIGURES 4, 8 and 9 for the construction which joins the front ends of the sticks 38 and 40 to the front member 20. The forward end of each of the sticks 33 and 40 is provided with a notched end 56 for engaging the outer edge surface of the stick 2% and also the inner fiat surface thereof as clearly shown in the plan sectional view in FIGURE 9. The notched ends of the sticks 38 and 40 are received between a pair of blocks 58 mounted on the inner surface of the strip 20 and secured thereto by fastener members 60 whereby the blocks 58 form a slot 62 for engaging the upper and lower surfaces of the sticks 38 and 40 thus preventing vertical movement thereof in relation to the stick 20. The same construction is employed at the bottom and top of the main body 14. Underlying the upper pair of sticks 38 and 40 adjacent the forward end thereof is a rearwardly extending rudder support stick 64 which has a longitudinally projecting pin 66 on the forward end thereof for engagement with a socket 68 in the stick 26. The upper rudder stick 64 passes under the upper spreader stick 42 and terminates only slightly rearwardly thereof. A lower rudder stick designated by the numeral 70 is longer than the rudder stick 64 and passes over the lower spreader stick 42, thus preventing downward movement of the spreader stick 42 or upwardly movement of the spreader stick 42 thus forming a completely rigid and demountable construction inasmuch as the rudder sticks 64 and 76 are retained in spread apart condition by a vertical stick member 72 having a pin 74 on each end thereof received in sockets in the sticks 64 and 70 respectively. The outer end of the rudder stick 70' is notched as designated by the numeral 76 and this receives a knotted line 78. The knotted line is connected to the bottom outer corner of the rudder 18 which includes a plastic sheet of material 80 having a forward edge attached to the vertical stick 72 and a bottom reinforcing member 82 and an inclined thickened rib portion 84 whereby the rudder is held in perpendicular relation to the plane of the rear face of the main body 14 and the stick 72 retains the rudder sticks 64 and 70 spread apart into engagement with the rear edges of the spreader sticks 42.

Each Wing assembly 16 generally includes a triangular shaped plastic panel 86 having reinforced edges 88. Each end of the panel 86 is provided with an inwardly facing hook 90 which engages with the notches 26 in the ends of the sticks 22 and 24 thus mounting the wing detachably on the main body section 14. The central apex of the triangular shaped panel 86 is also provided with an inwardly facing hook 92. A wing spreader stick 94 is mounted between the sticks 22 and 24 by virtue of projecting longitudinal pins 26 received in apertures 98. Attached to the stick 94 in spaced parallel relation is a second stick attached thereto by fastening loops 102. The stick 100 extends out through openings 184 in the lower plastic sheet 28 and then extends inwardly through an opening 106 in the wing panel 86 and is provided with a line of separation 168 which is bridged by a resilient member 110 whereby the notched outer end 112 may be engaged with the hook 92 and the resilient material 110 will tend to cause the outer portions of the stick 19% to extend forward but will permit rearward deflection thereof so that wind may pass over the wings without damage to the aerial toy.

It is noted that the rudder sticks 64 and 70 have a projecting pin 114 for engagement with the inner surface of the spreader ticks 42 to prevent outward movement of the rudder stick 70 in relation to the front stick 20 to which they are detachably connected.

The wings 16 are illustrated in one possible arrangement in the drawings. However, it is within the scope of the present invention to arrange the wings in inverted 4 position from that shown in FIGURE 1. This would place the wide part of the wing adjacent the top of the device and generally coextensive with the lower edge of the upper panel 30. The wing holding stick is also rearranged for holding the wing and is disposed along the bottom edge of the upper panel.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An aerial toy comprising a skeletonized framework having a generally triangular cross-sectional configuration, a sheet of lightweight flexible material encircling each end area of the framework with the central area of the framework being open, an elongated string attached to one corner of said framework adjacent one end thereof whereby engagement of wind with the diverging surfaces of the sheet material encircling the framework will cause the toy to be airborne generally in a horizontal orientation when the string is controlled, a pair of laterally extending wings attached to the corners of said framework remote from the corner having the string attached, and a rearwardly extending rudder member attached longitudinally to said framework rearwardly thereof and in opposition to the point of attachment of the string and bridging the open central area of the framework.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said wings is generally triangular with the base of the triangle formed thereby extending alongside a corner of the framework, said wings being supported by a sectional mounting member, and resilient means holding the sections of the mounting member in aligned relation thereby enabling the wings to bend backward while the resilient means thus permitting passage of strong wind past the toy without damage thereto.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said rudder is substantially of right triangular construction having the hypotenuse thereof facing upwardly, and upper and lower rudder mounting members supported from said framework and extending transversely thereof with the front ends of said last mentioned members engaged with the corner of the framework engaged by the string.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said framework includes three longitudinal parallel sticks arranged at the corner of the framework with spacer sticks being provided for spacing the corner sticks from each other, said spacer sticks and corner sticks being detachably connected for ease of assembly and disassembly.

5. An aerial toy comprising a skeletonized framework of generally triangular cross-sectional configuration, a sheet of lightweight flexible material encircling each end area of the framework, the central area of the framework being open, said framework including three spaced parallel corner members, spacers disposed between the corner members for maintaining the corner members in spaced relation, a string attached to one corner member adjacent one end thereof whereby the toy will be disposed in a generally horizontal position when the wind engages the diverging surfaces of the sheet material encircling the framework, a pair of laterally extending wings attached to the corner members of said framework remote from the corner member having the string attached, a sectional mounting member extending between the corner members to which the wings are attached and extending outwardly beyond such corner members for supporting the wings, resilient means connecting the sections of the mounting member for resilient-1y retaining the sections in alignment, the resilient means being disposed adjacent each corner member whereby the wings may fold rearwardly due to deflection of the resilient means thereby permitting passage of strong Wind past the toy without damage thereto, a pair of rudder mounting members extending rearwardly from the corner member having the string attached thereto to a point beyond the plane in which the other tWo corner members are disposed, and a rudder carried by said pair of mounting members and disposed rearwardly of the plane of the corner members having the wings attached thereto and being disposed perpendicular to such plane and bridging the open area of the framework whereby wind may engage the surfaces of the rudder for stabilizing the toy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Miller Mar. 12, 1929 Wilder Aug. 13, 1929 Wheelwright Oct. 16, 1945 Beachy Nov. 2, 1954 Green Nov. 2, 1954 Corbin Jan. 11, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS Australia ....Dec. 10, 1936 

